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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet; 1. H. 0. WHITE.

VALVE GEAR FOR COMPOUND ENGINES. No. 463,182. Patented Nov. 17,1891.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. 0. WHITE. VALVE GEAR FOR COMPOUND ENGINES.

No. 463,182. Patented Nov. 17, 1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY O. \VHITE, OF NEYV YORK, N. Y.

VALVE-GEAR FOR COMPOUND ENGINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 463,182, dated November 17, 1891. Application filed November 22, 1890. Serial No. 372,328. (No model.)

To [all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, HENRY 0. WHITE, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Valve-Gear for Compound Engines; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of 'the in vention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to valve-gear for compound engines havingaplurality of cylinders; and its novelty consists in the meansemployed to adjust the relative points of cut-off in the several cylinders whereby the work done in them is equalized or so controlled as to produce the most economical results.

Heretofore in all automatic engines of this class known to me it has been customary to automatically regulate the point of cut-oft in the high-pressure cylinder by the governor of the engine and either to have the cut-off in the low-pressure cylinder fixed and non-adjustable, or else to control it by the governor in the same manner as that used with the high-pressure cylinder. In the latter case the cut-off or range of expansion in the lowpressure :eylinder bears a fixed relation to that in the high-pressure cylinder, and, being once established in the construction of the engine, is independent of the steam-pressure in the generator or in the receiver and of the back-pressure and the load on the engine. Both methods are objectionable and not con- I ducive to economy of steam under variable loads. \Vith a given pressure in the steam,

chest of the high-pressure cylinder the greatest economy of steam for a given load on the engine depends not only upon the point of cut-ofi in the high-pressure cylinder, which is controlled by the governor, and upon the backpressure in the low-pressure cylinder, (due to the resistance of the exhaustports and to the pressure of the atmosphere in the case of a non-condensing engine and to the pressure of the condenser vapor in a condensing-engine,) but also upon the receiver pressure (or the pressure in the passage between the two cylinders) and to the point of cutott in the low-pressure cylinder. If the point of cut off in the low-pressure cylinder is fixed and not adjustable by the governor, the engineer has no control over the receiver pressure or over the range of expansion in thelowpressure cylinder, and if this point of cut-off is controlled by the governor and the receiver pressure thereby varied to some extent, still the relation of the cut-off in one cylinder to that in the other, which maybe best adapted to one boiler pressure or load may not be best under another pressure or load and the engineer is Without means of regulating this relation to secure better results.

The object of my invention is to overcome the disadvantages above named by providing an adjustable connection between the valves of the high and low pressure cylinders, whereby the point of cutoff in the low-pressure cylinder may not only be controlled by the governor, but maybe adjusted so as to cause the cut-off in the low-pressure cylinder to have any desired relation to that of the highpressure cylinder. By this means the receiver pressure may be controlled so as to regulate the amounts of work done in each cylinder or to cause such a relation to exist between them as may accomplish the result. desired.

In the drawings, in Which the same letters refer to the same parts in all of the figures, Figure l is a top plan view of the essential parts of an engine provided with my valveadjusting device. Figure 2 is a side view of the eccentric-rod and adjusting device. Fig. 3 is an end view of the vibrating rocker, and Fig. 4 is a side View showing the connection of the fly-wheel and its governor through the eccentric and its rod with the adjusting device.

In all of the figures the parts are shown in relative positions only and not in relative sizes.

In the drawings, H is the high-pressure cylinder, and L is the low pressure of a compound engine. They are placed on a frame F and connected by the receiver Y in the usual manner; and by the word receiver I mean any passage by which communication is established between the two cylinders, and do not restrict the term, as is sometimes done,

. to such method of operation.

to a vessel or passage the volume of which bears a predetermined relation to that of the cylinders or either of them.

WV is the fly-wheel containing a shaft-governor G, and carrying an eccentric E, which is connected with my adjusting device A by means of an eccentric-rod E. This adjusting device consists of a rocker R, mounted on' a rock-shaft R, suitably secured to the engineframe F. The rockerR is'provided with two arms, one of which S is provided with an aperture 8, adapted to receive a pin parallel with the rock-shaft and which serves as a fixed bearing at one end for the high-pressurevalve connection-rod O, and at the other for the eccentricrod E, secured in place by suitable means, as the nut E The other arm S is slotted and forms a link in which the lowpressure-valve' connection-rod C is adjustably secured by suitable means, as a pin and nut. The connection-valve rods 0 and C are secured to the valve-rods V and V in the usual manner.

The operation of this form of my device is readily understood. It the connection-rod G is adjusted on the link S at a point in a line with the pin which serves as a bearing for the eccentric-rods E and connection-rod C, the two connection rods would have the same travel and the travel of the valves of the two cylinders would be the same. If the rod 0 is attached to the link S above this point, it

would have a greater travel, and if belowthis point a lesser travel, than the rod 0. By this valves in various positions, adopting the ones best suited to his purpose. In the drawings, I have for simplicity of illustration shown the device controlled from a fly-wheel governor of standard form; but any other governor which may be used to control the valve-rods would serve the same purpose. When a flywheel governor is used, it may either operate an eccentric which swings across the shaft, in which case the cut-off would be variedby changing the travel of the valve, or it may operate an eccentric which rotates about the shaft, in which case the points of cut-off will be determined by the angular advance of the eccentric. 7

Although I have shown both valves as operated by one eccentric, I do not limit myself I may operate the high-pressure valve from one eccentric and the low-pressure valve from another set on the shaft at a different angle or otherwise adjusted. In such a case I would use the slotted link with an adjustable attachment of the low-pressure-valverod, as in the case above described. I It is evident that wide modifications in detail may be made in my invention without departing from its essential principle, and that mechanical equivalents of the specific device shown will be easily devised by a skilled workman; and some modifications of this device which I found in practice to be efficient, and which I believe to be new, will be made the subject of future and other applications for Letters Patent. I have shown my device as applied to a compound engine having two cylinders. It may be applied as well to engines having three or more, and also to engines of the class known as cross compound engines, in which the cylinders are placed alongside of each other.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new is- 1. In a compound engine having high and low pressure cylinders connected by a receiver, the combination, with the eccentric controlling the valve of the high-pressure cylinder, of the valve-rod controlling the travel of the valve of the low-pressure cylinder, and of means-placed intermediate the eccentric and the low-pressure-valve rod, whereby the travel of the latter may be adjusted, as shown and described.

2; In a'compound engine having a plurality of cylinders, in each of which the stem is cut off automatically by valves, the motion of which is imparted from the same governor, the combination, with'the said governor and the valve-actuating mechanism, of a device placed intermediate the same, whereby the bearing of onevalve connection-rod may be fixed thereon and the bearing of theother combination, with the cylinders and their connecting receiver, of the valve-rods and their connections, and an adjusting device consisting of a rocker actuated from the governor through the eccentric-rod having a fixed pin forming a bearing for the valve connection-rod of the high-pressure cylinder, and an adjustable pin formin'g'a'bear'ing for the valve connection-rod of the lowrpressure cylinder.

.4.- In a two-cylinder compound engine, the combination, with the valve-rods of the said cylinders, of a rocker vibrating-on a stationary rock-shaft and actuated by the governor of the engine and consisting of two arms, one provided with a pin forming a fixed bearing for the valve connection-rod of the highpressurecylinder and the other slotted and provided with an adjustable pin for a movable bearing for the valve connection-rod of the low-pressure cylinder, as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY 0. WHITE. Witnesses:

J AS. P. Downs, WM. RAIMOND BAIRD. 

